Responsible Business Conversations with Namhla Saba

In this Responsible Business Conversation, Namhla Saba is in conversation with Xolisile Ntanzi , a CFO and partner at Heritage Capital. Heritage Capital is a 100% black female owned, private equity firm and investment company. 

In this conversation we explore the practical role of General Partners as active stewards of capital — how they challenge, support and enable investee companies to embed responsible business practices into their strategy, governance and day-to-day decisions.

ESG and Sustainability are  powerful investor and governance activism tools — challenging, supporting and encouraging listed and unlisted companies to adopt responsible business practices across their value chains.

ESG is therefore not only a compliance exercise. It is an opportunity to combat climate change, create and protect enterprise value, and strengthen governance and accountability. 

Yet adverse social and environmental business practices continue to deepen poverty, inequality, environmental degradation and the erosion of community livelihoods, despite decades of regulations, reporting frameworks and governance structures.

However General Partners such as Heritage Capital ( private equity fund management company) are uniquely positioned to influence investee companies’ decisions, behaviours and governance, and support them in adopting responsible business practices that drive shared value across their value chains.

Ultimately, the conversation asks: What does effective investor influence look like in practice, and how can it help investee companies protect and create value while adopting more responsible business practices?

On this episode of Responsible Business Conversations, Namhla Saba speaks with Cuma Zwane from the CIPC about the future of Sustainability Reporting from a South African regulatory perspective.

Over the past few years, the CIPC and the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic) have been exploring the role of Sustainability Reporting within South Africa's regulatory landscape. Their focus extends beyond whether reporting should be mandated to understanding how it can support the country's broader economic and developmental priorities, as outlined in the National Development Plan.

This conversation therefore goes beyond compliance to explore a bigger question: Can Sustainability Reporting become a catalyst for stronger governance, greater accountability, and a more inclusive and sustainable South African economy?

This month on the Responsible Business Conversation, Namhla Saba and Lebogang Senne unpack the current sustainability reporting landscape in South Africa and across the rest of Africa.

Together, we explore what is driving adoption, how organisations are responding to the rapidly evolving reporting environment, and what both the private and public sectors should already be preparing for.

Lebogang Senne is a Chartered Accountant (SA) with nearly 20 years of experience in standard-setting, regulation, stakeholder engagement, and governance. She has worked with the IFRS Foundation and the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA) to advance the adoption and contextualisation of international reporting and ethics standards across Africa.

We would love to hear from you. Please send any questions or topic suggestions to [email protected].

For listeners looking to connect with like-minded professionals committed to driving economic growth through doing the right thing, join the Responsible Business Community by completing the joining form at:

www.integratedthinking.co.za/home/responsiblebusinesscommunity

We’ve seen this year and in recent years the frequent and severe weather events. Unfortunatlely these don’t only remain weather events, they are increasingly impacting daily business operations, the bottom line and overall business resilience.

CDP research notes a $900billion financial loss due to extreme weather events, but the cost to companies to mitigate environmental risks was substantially lower – nearly 13 times – than their anticipated financial impact. (ESG Today).

In this Responsible Business Conversation, Namhla Saba speaks with Sashen Singh a Senior Sustainability Manager from Commercial Banking from Nedbank Group about what this means in practice for SMMEs.

 We unpack:
 • Why climate risk is becoming a business resilience issue
 • What banks are actually looking for when assessing long-term sustainability
 • What information businesses should start organising today
 • How SMMEs can have more constructive conversations with their bankers in preparation for financing ther decarbonosation, mitigation and adaptation plans.

 The aim of this conversation is not to add another burden to already stretched businesses, but to highlight practical ways leaders can strengthen resilience using information and resources many organisations already have.

 If you are a business leader navigating today’s pressures while trying to prepare for tomorrow’s risks, this conversation is for you.

Responsible Business Conversations, brought to you by Integrated
 Thinking Solutions, is a space for courageous leaders who believe business can create shared value: growing organisations, uplifting communities,
 and caring for the planet.

Join our community of responsible business leaders at : www.integratedthinking.co.za/home/responsible-business-community

To contact us on topics you'd like us to cover to help you practically navigate your sustainability journey email us at : [email protected] 

We’ve seen this year and in recent years the frequent and severe weather events. Unfortunatlely these don’t only remain weather events, they are increasingly impacting daily business operations, the bottom line and overall business resilience 

In this Responsible Business Conversation, Namhla Saba speaks with Sashen Singh a Senior Sustainability Manager from Commercial Banking from Nedbank Group about what this means in practice for SMMEs.

We unpack:
• Why climate risk is becoming a business resilience issue
• What banks are actually looking for when assessing long-term sustainability
• What information businesses should start organising today
• How SMMEs can have more constructive conversations with their bankers in preparation for financing ther decarbonosation, mitigation and adaptation plans.

The aim of this conversation is not to add another burden to already stretched businesses, but to highlight practical ways leaders can strengthen resilience using information and resources many organisations already have.

If you are a business leader navigating today’s pressures while trying to prepare for tomorrow’s risks, this conversation is for you.

Responsible Business Conversations, brought to you by Integrated
Thinking Solutions, is a space for courageous leaders who believe business can create shared value: growing organisations, uplifting communities,
and caring for the planet.

These conversations are about moving beyond compliance and stepping into a leadership approach that fosters trust, purpose, and lasting impact.

This is where meaningful conversations spark meaningful change—and where responsible business becomes simply good business. This is the space where leaders step forward, think boldly, and shape a world where responsible business is not an aspiration; it is the new reality.

[email protected]

In this episode, we give recommendations on how organisations can turn their ESG and sustainability strategy into a shared mission that drives cross-divisional collaboration and innovation.

Through our 3-Layer Alignment Framework, we help teams see how their roles connect to the broader ESG vision and the organisation's Strategy. Once divisions understand where they fit in, ownership grows — and innovation naturally follows, driving stronger interdivisional collaboration.

In this Responsible Business Conversation (brought to you by Integrated Thinking Solutions) Namhla Saba is in conversation with Rehema Isa, a visionary business strategist.  In this conversation we explore what authentic inclusion truly means and how leaders can cultivate cultures that welcome, value, and amplify differences rather than manage or mute them.

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are no longer optional; they are essential to long-term value creation, resilience, and innovation. 

Yet despite bold commitments, many organisations still face a quiet, unspoken truth: inclusion that asks people to conform in order to belong.
It’s a trap that’s easy to miss. The door may be open, but the space isn’t always ready to make room for "different". People are invited in — but only if they adapt, assimilate, or soften their edges to fit the dominant culture.

Inclusion that demands sameness is not inclusion at all; it’s assimilation. And while assimilation might create short-term comfort, it erodes trust, dulls creativity, and stifles innovation.

Namhla Saba in this episode talks to Sibulele Ndandani a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with close to 20 years of experience in investment banking focusing on Africa private markets (debt and equity), corporate credit and project finance. She currently works at a pension fund as a capital allocator to funds across Africa.

With growing global climate change concerns and significant inequality and poverty challenges especially in Africa and other merging markets, capital plays a vital role in contributing towards alleviating some of these key challenges. Institutional investors are best placed to partner with general partners in allocating capital to deals and investments that can meet both the financial return and the imperative impact objectives.
 
 Namhla and Sibulele discussed the following:
 - What does the ESG integration landscape look like in Private Equity (General Partner) funds in Africa?
 -What are key considerations that emerging funds should consider when creating their policies and procedures to align with capital allocators' key imperatives?
 - What are the key considerations for reporting between underlying investment and the LP?
 - How are institutional investors navigating greenwashing/ impact washing in Africa?
 

 ESG integration is an important tool that helps GPs and LPs manage ESG risks while creating value for multiple stakeholders. However, a  recent study and report by PwC, surveying 300 general partners (GPs) and limited partners (LPs) in Europe, Asia Specific, the UK and the United States notes that Private Equity GPs have limited entrenchment of ESG considerations and that PE LPs attribute the lowest degree of strategic importance to ESG reporting.

 For more information or topics to discuss email us at [email protected]

Namhla Saba in this episode talks to Sibulele Ndandani a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with close to 20 years of experience in investment banking focusing on Africa private markets (debt and equity), corporate credit and project finance. She currently works at a pension fund as a capital allocator to funds across Africa.

Namhla and Sibulele discussed the following:
- What does the ESG integration landscape look like in Private Equity (General Partner) funds in Africa?
-What are key considerations that emerging funds should consider when creating their policies and procedures to align with capital allocators' key imperatives?
- What are the key considerations for reporting between underlying investment and the LP?
- How are institutional investors navigating greenwashing/ impact washing in Africa?

With growing global climate change concerns and significant inequality and poverty challenges especially in Africa and other merging markets, capital plays a vital role in contributing towards alleviating some of these key challenges. Institutional investors are best placed to help encourage fund managers and allocators to find deals and investments that can meet both the required financial return and the imperative impact objectives.

ESG integration is an important tool that helps GP and LPs manage ESG risks while creating value for multiple stakeholders. However, a  recent study and report by PwC, surveying 300 general partners (GP) and limited partners (LP) in Europe, Asia Specific, the UK and the United States notes that Private Equity GPs have limited entrenchment of ESG considerations and that PE LPs attribute the lowest degree of strategic importance to ESG reporting.

For more information or topics to discuss email us at [email protected]

Namhla Saba, in this episode, discusses ESG integration into the core operations of the business. The key pillars that can help business leaders navigate the process of ESG integration.

ESG Integration into core business allows organisations to:
- Respond to their client's/customer's supply chain sustainability requirements
- Collect and analyse relevant data to support their sustainability assertions, hence avoiding greenwashing
- Systemically work towards meeting net zero targets
- Position themselves positively for raising capital through ESG funds

For more information, email us at [email protected] or subscribe to our weekly newsletter at https://www.integratedthinking.co.za/subscribe